Education

A tactical analgesic option for Durham and Cleveland police firearms medics: the journey

February 2019

Background:With an ever-increasing exposure to clinical situations, predominantly trauma, firearms medics at Durham and Cleveland police forces began to consider whether an increase in their scope of practice was needed; specifically, whether they could add analgesia administration to their clinical protocols.Considerations:The request was directed to the Tactical Medical Advisory Group (TMAG). This faculty comprises a clinical lead, emergency medicine doctors, military and civilian paramedics...

Human factors in student paramedic practice

Human factors affect paramedic practice and training. However, although there are frequent references to human factors in the literature, little evidence on this is available on those that influence student paramedic development. A personal experience as a student paramedic highlighted certain human factors unique to the role, most notably how interactions between students and mentors can affect a student's practice. Following this, the awareness and effect of human factors within the student...

Examining the benefits of paramedic engagement for the novice researcher

Background:Paramedics new to research need to know how to optimise the quality of proposed research studies. A prehospital mixed-methods study design required guidance, not only from an academic perspective but also from experts within paramedicine. Paramedic engagement was defined as an exercise where paramedic researchers and paramedic clinical academics could be involved as advisory professionals.Aim:The aim of this paramedic engagement was the revision of a proposed research design on how...

A qualitative exploration of current paramedic cardiac auscultation practices

This exploratory study addresses the current paucity of knowledge available in UK paramedic practice in relation to cardiac auscultation. There is a recognised lack of data surrounding the efficacy, safety and relevance of patient assessment skills in the pre-hospital setting in general, and cardiac auscultation specifically. This study provides information about current paramedic practice, and provides a basis for further research in this area. An online survey was distributed using convenience...

Building psychological resilience in the paramedic

Paramedics face the need to be critically introspective, reflective and reflexive every working day. Their work involves not only the functional need to clinically assess, diagnose and manage critically ill and injured members of the public, but also a situated responsiveness to the scenes of severe trauma and death. Few other professions demand such an acute degree of personal and professional resilience; an underpinning education is therefore pivotal to facilitate the development of this...

Safe transfer of simulation-based intubation skills to patients in cardiac arrest

Background:Studies investigating the transfer of endotracheal intubation skills from simulation training to out-of-hospital patient scenarios are limited.Aims:The aim was to evaluate the outcome of endotracheal intubation simulation training among paramedics and the safe transfer of skills to out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients.Methods:Paramedics participated in a 1-day simulation training course including five Airtraq endotracheal intubation attempts using three different types of...

Integrating aged care in the curriculum: the importance of design and evaluation

Background:The current study describes the design and implementation of a residential aged care facility placement, and reports student experiences using an attitudinal survey across two cohorts.Method:Placements in January 2014 and 2015 were surveyed to identify barriers and enablers to student learning. Descriptive analysis was used to report the frequency of responses for categorical variables. Chi-square tests were used to analyse change in item rank by year. Content analysis was used to...

An innovation in mental health specialty placements

The current article describes how an innovative approach to mental health training for student paramedics can prepare the future workforce with the skills and knowledge needed to provide high-quality care. Action research methodology is used to describe the delivery and evaluation of the placement, identifying its key and sustainable learning impacts for all involved. Key to its success was the co-production of the placement from beginning to end, including service users and qualified...

Time for Dementia: an innovation in education

This paper describes an innovative undergraduate educational initiative called the Time for Dementia programme. It was developed to improve the knowledge, attitudes and skills in dementia among healthcare students. Time for Dementia involves pairs of healthcare students (medical, paramedic, adult and mental health nursing, and allied health professionals) visiting a person with dementia and their carer in their homes over a period of 2 years. The aim of the programme is to enable students to...

A day in the life of a paramedic advanced clinical practitioner in primary care

This ‘day-in-the-life’ article is the author's first-person account of his experiences as a paramedic working in an inner-city GP practice, while training to be an advanced clinical practitioner. The author aims to illustrate the range and complexity of the role of paramedics based in primary care, and how this role is developing beyond the traditional scope of paramedic practice. The article presents actual patient encounters, which reflect a typical working day in primary care. Through this...

Emotional labour in paramedic practice: student awareness of professional demands

Purpose:The purpose of this study was to explore student paramedics' awareness of the emotional demands of their future role, particularly regarding the delivery of compassionate care.Problem:There is a dominance of nursing literature in the discourse around compassionate care and emotional labour, and a paucity of research in the paramedic literature.Methods:A survey was issued to a small convenience sample of paramedic students. Excel was used to organise data collected, which was then...

Exploratory study into the views of paramedics on paramedic prescribing.

The purpose of this paper is to establish the views of a group of Paramedics on Paramedic prescribing. Although at the time of writing the proposal to the Commission on Human Medicines they rejected prescribing for Paramedics, work is still ongoing with various bodies to move forward with the application. A focus group of a small number of Paramedics was held, and the researcher performed a review of relevant literature. The development of the role of paramedic from an ambulance driver to a...

PTSD, available support and development of services in the UK Ambulance Service

The role of front line ambulance staff in the UK has developed so rapidly that it is almost unrecognisable from days gone by, when scoop and run tactics were commonplace. With additional responsibilities, pressurised decision making and a range of sometimes complex interventions, unique pressures have also developed. The purpose of this article is to review pertinent information relating to how these additional pressures can metamorphose into specific conditions such as post traumatic stress...

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